Air Force will stay in Mountain West

The Air Force Academy will remain in the Mountain West Conference instead of bolting for the Big East.

Lt. Gen. Mike Gould, the academy's superintendent, said on Wednesday that he recently spoke with Big East Commissioner John Marinatto and informed him of the school's intention to stay put.

The Big East is trying to rebuild after the planned departures of Syracuse, Pittsburgh and West Virginia.

The Air Force Academy issued the following statement from Gould on Wednesday night:

"The Air Force Academy will remain in the Mountain West Conference, where we have been since 1998-99 when we were a co-founding member of the conference. I made this decision based on what's best for our cadet-athletes and the institution as a whole. This decision was made based on things like regional rivalries (like just playing our 50th football game against Colorado State Univ.), loyalties to the conference, travel time for our cadet athletes and fans, school time missed, and travel costs. I feel the Academy is a key and pivotal member of the Mountain West, and think we can do a lot to help this conference continue its tradition of excellence. We of course continue to watch the changes happening not only in the Mountain West, but within NCAA sports around the country. As for now, 'We're ALL IN' the Mountain West Conference."